Hugh Reynolds: Schreibman, Gibson get down to it

More importantly for some Sawyers, July 29 is sports hall-of-famer Ralph Longendyke’s birthday. (Super salesman Ralph reads only ads in the paper, so tell him you saw his name.)

Birthday boy

When I throw a birthday party for myself, we usually supply food and beverage, noisemakers and such. Guests bring presents, maybe a jug or a six-pack.

But politicians are different than us. They pay to get into these things.

CountyExecutiveMike Hein’s 47th birthday party celebration (born 7/20/65) will be at Skytop Steakhouse in the Town ofUlster on July 26, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Entry costs a hefty $90. True believers can spend considerably more by buying the centerfold of the program for $2,000, which includes a table of 10 and of course the undying gratitude of the executive.

This one has an interesting wrinkle heretofore unseen at political fund-raisers. For another $25, one can “sign the card.”

That reminds me of the 1935 song, recorded numerous times since, “I’m gonna sit right down and write myself a letter.” Our slightly revised version for the occasion goes like this:

I’m gonna write words oh so sweet

They’re gonna knock me off my feet.

A lot of kisses on his bottom.

He’ll be glad I got ‘em. (Ka-ching/$25.)

No one dare grouse about the executive holding an expensive fund-raiser three years before he’s up for election, when other candidates on the ballot this year are begging for meager droppings in the teeth of a recession.

County Democratic Chairman Frank Cardinale defended his Democratic executive, naturally. Sometimes glib to a fault, Cardinale responded to my inquiry with, “Well, you know Mike does this every year, and he’s very generous with donations to other candidates.” But of course.

Here and there

Hurley Town Supervisor Gary Bellows may be getting the old fish-eye from fellow board members for abstaining from a controversial vote about adopting the scenic byway program at the town’s regular June meeting. (“Backbone”) Bellows says he was waiting for the town planning board, zoning board, etc. to pass judgment. The town board having seen enough, voted 3-0 (with one absent) to reject the proposal.

This time, the ol’ let’s-study-it-some-more ploy isn’t plausible. The scenic highway proposal for Route 28 was presented in detail to the town board in January, with both sides well-represented.

The annual Saugerties car show, which ran in the village last Sunday, has to be one of the best organized in the region. Not only were hundreds of classic cars parked neatly in rows for easy viewing, but three non-stop bands were also blaring vintage rock. Small things like vendors selling ice-cold water for a buck — they don’t gouge the guests in Saugerties — were attended to.

Ending on a downbeat, it would appear Kingston’s collapsing Washington Avenue sewer system — soon to be renamed Sinkhole Street— is a metaphor for the times in which we live. Things are breaking down, in part from years of neglect, and we don’t have the money to fix them.